Game of Thrones episodes rarely stand out. They often seem to blend together. Though they’re typically exciting and entertaining, if I were to name an episode title, odds would likely be against you telling me anything that specifically happened in any given episode. That is, possibly, with the exception of the show’s standout penultimate episodes. During these episodes, the creative team behind the series seems to decide to pull out all the stops and produce some of the best episodes not just of this series but that will air on all of television this year. Whether that’s Ned’s beheading in “Baelor” or the gruesome Red Wedding in “The Rains of Castamere”, the show simply knocks it out of the park.
The episode that immediately comes to mind while watching “The
Watchers on the Wall” is “Blackwater”, the self-contained battle at the end of
the show’s second season. “Blackwater” took time to focus on one location and
set of characters and in spending a greater amount of time with them and pushing
the show’s budget to its very limit to produce the largest battle to date, the
series created one of its finest hours of television.
“The Watchers on the Wall” is almost a response to “Blackwater”.
It’s a different location and characters but of the same mind, but sets out to
also be bigger and more explosive. At times, “The Watchers on the Wall” is
almost less elegant than “Blackwater”. This is for a number of reasons. The
first being that the episode tries to eke out a lot of plot in the episode -- more
than it probably should. Another is that the Wall has far less recognizable
characters to reliably draw upon than King’s Landing did. And the criticism most
in the episode’s favor is that the episode is far too ambitious for its own
good and, at times, overreaches.
But some very minor quibbles aside, “The Watchers on the
Wall” is Game of Thrones at it bests.
It leans into the aspect that makes Game
of Thrones stand out. Mad Men is
deeper; Hannibal is rawer; Orange is the New Black has a better
handle on its large cast. But Game of
Thrones has a majestic sweep quite unlike any other show. The courtly
politics are part of the show’s pleasures but it’s the unique sprawl, the sense
of a vast, lived-in world we’re only just beginning to scratch the surface of,
which makes the show so endlessly watchable.
In no other show could you see large armies clash with the
epic scope of The Lord of the Rings.
This was an hour-long action film delivered into our homes. Yet it was more
brutal and intimate than your mainstream action flick. The episode begins by
providing some quiet calm before the storm as characters waited for the
inevitable reckoning to come. And these small moments are quickly succeeded by
grueling fight scenes. The Wall is attacked from both sides and the
undermanned, undersupplied Nights Watch fights for dear life, taking heavy
losses, including senior members.
The show brought back Neil Marshall, who previously directed
“Blackwater”, to direct, and Marshall brings a great eye to the action
sequences. They are packed with a visceral intensity. Marshall keeps
emphasizing the scale on which things are occurring. There are small, throwaway
moments that reinforce the sweep of things. For instance, the first movement of
the wildlings on the Wall, from either direction, is marked by a remarkable
breadth to match the urgency.
I’ve mentioned throughout this season that Game of Thrones storytelling structure
ends up being damaging to the story it tries to tell, despite it being
seemingly the only way to manageably tell Martin’s books. But episodes like “The
Watchers on the Wall” demonstrate what the show could and can do when it takes
time to settle in on one of its many little worlds. And in doing so, like
Joffrey’s wedding earlier in the season, it demonstrates how rich and worthy of
exploring these many different stories and locations are.
There may have been characters I missed stopping in on, but
it was absolutely worth it for an episode as excellent as this.
Stray Thoughts:
-Ygritte dies, perhaps not surprisingly, and she’s given some
great sendoff moments, whether it was her speech pre-attack at the campfire or the depths
of pain and betrayal expressed in her encounter with Jon. Rose Leslie will be
greatly missed.
-Gilly returns and Sam kisses her and all but professes his
love. He also plays lawyer by justifying his behavior as it doesn’t violate the
actual letter of the Nights Watch Oath.
-Favorite shot: the tracking shot of the all action at
Castle Black. Chaos and violence and brutal majesty.
Grade: A
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